[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by King Rudi

It wasn't until I became a trainer that I realized how sadistic I truly am. Although I am the most kind-hearted asshole a person will meet, I love seeing people's reactions when I have to take them 80' up, extend the secondary and rotate the turntable. I did have a guy once drop to his knees, in the basket, and was somewhat crying. I laugh about it now, but I was genuinely concerned about him. "You ain't got to go this high man! I'm scared man! I'm super f*cking scared!" I felt really bad about the ordeal, but it's part of training. If you're scared of heights, any job requiring an 80' boom is not for you. The sway/swing, once you stop fully extended, still gets me at times.

What cracks me up about the training is, generally I'm training manly men. I'm 44 and about 140 pounds, bald head and glasses. I look like a total dork. Seeing these big manly men, who aren't scared of anything, lock at the knees at 30' and try to hide it is hilarious. At 50', you find out real quick who has balls/nerves of steel and who is full of shit. The only person to ever act like being that high was no problem was a 20 year old girl who weighed less 100 pounds. She had on a small body harness and we still had to cinch it down on her.

The attached photos were my first time in a boom. Obviously I learned by diving head first. This cured my fear of heights quickly. This was a 1500AJP, if I recall correctly they extend over 150', this was a little over halfway.

Oh, FUCK DAT!!!